When students contribute to Wikimedia projects as part of an education program or classroom project, they will have an impact on Wikimedia communities. For that reason, it is important to involve the community when planning a project.
The community includes a wide range of volunteers who spend their free time maintaining and improving the quality of Wikimedia projects. Some editors contribute content to projects, others monitor recent changes and correct errors. There are administrators who clean up messes and manage disputes, developers who build tools and still others who work on policies to improve the way the projects work. All of this incredible work is accomplished through discussion and consensus within the community.
The community welcomes new editors and people who want to contribute to Wikimedia projects, but it is important to remember that they have invested a lot of time and energy into maintaining the quality of the projects where they work. Consult and collaborate so that the community can plan and prepare for how they work a group of new contributors: they have valuable experience and advice to share with project or classroom leaders.
Communities are different on every Wikimedia project, and everyone will have a different experience with the community when they start to contribute to Wikimedia projects, many students have reported that interacting with community members has been one of the best parts of their education program.
“WikiMed would have never been a success without support of the community who gave guest lectures, online support, and behind the scenes work. I had a lot of support, but I made it a priority to seek community support". - Shani
Get the community involved with your education project before the term begins every time you plan to have students contribute to Wikimedia projects in the classroom.
Learn how to build a positive relationship with the community whether you are just starting a Wikimedia education program, or have have started having problems with student or educator work getting deleted.
Community policies for education programs can help ease tension between new and long term editors by setting clear guidelines and expectations for both groups to follow.
